The Continental A-40

The Continental A-40 was the first popular flat four. It was an L-head motor with cast-iron cylinders. The heads on each side of the engine were one-piece, each one spanning two cylinders. The engine had only two main bearings and a single ignition. The single ignition was considered to be reliable and the spark plugs were well situated to avoid fouling. For it's day, the A-40 was a smooth running, easy to start, reliable (provided the 200 hour TBO was observed) and cheap.

The Fuel System

The fuel system detailed on this page is unique to s/n's 11 and 12. The fuel tank was relocated to the fuselage where it was placed between the panel and the firewall starting with s/n 13. Note that the s/n 12 right fuel line ran from the lower forward edge of the tank down the forward strut into the cockpit while on the left tank the line ran down one of the aft cockpit struts and was then routed forward between the inner cloth covering and the outer cloth covering. A fuel drain was provided on the right tank only. The fuel lines come together at a valve on the firewall (visible beneath the panel). The valve is operated by a push pull cable, the control for which can be seen on the forward left cockpit wall.